Awaiting me are more and more erotic delicacies, fine and pungent, to read with delight: "... to the bitter-wondrous scent of orange blossom. The heart reposes and refills..." (Translated from the Hebrew. From the poem Darkness Is a Blanket, Rainbow Ride, Tal-Baron's first CD; see Biographical Note.)
--- Amos Oz, Author and Israel Prize Laureate, Israel

Carmela Tal-Baron's visual art and her poetry both seek to illuminate hidden patterns that draw things together, and to penetrate into their inner life. In recent years, Carmela has cultivated a love of chant, the magical power of the verbal utterance to transform by emphasizing the sensuality of words. Her poetry combines this love of verbal physicality and beauty with a unique playfulness, which give them their special multisensory appeal. (From the introduction to Poets and Mentors, poetry reading by Carmela Tal-Baron and Dahlia Ravikovitch.)
--- Dr. Elliott Rabin, Director of Education, Makor/Steinhardt
Cultural Center/92nd Street Y, NYC

Poetry and music are intimately related; they both express, through rhythm and melody, the precious logic of the heart, an incredible source of healing.
--- Louise Montello, author of Essential Musical Intelligence

ARTIST'S NOTE:
New York City is a perpetual paradigm shift, the modern Babel, where a symphony of tongues and accents is the environmental music we often hear. But do we really listen? We keep asking each other: Where are you from? What is your accent? If only we could pause, listen to each other's spoken words and ask: Who are you? What is your essence? If we did it more often, perhaps our Tower of Babel might transform into a spiraling tower of love.

"Paradigm Shift" is a collection of 24 poems by Carmela Tal-Baron, with musical interpretations by John DiMartino. It reflects the artist's own paradigm shift, as many of the poems in this collection speak to her personal transition and artistic journey across cultures.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Carmela Tal Baron is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist and designer. She is also a bilingual poet and songwriter, who came to New York from Israel in 1974. In Israel she published two books of poetry. Her first book, "From This Yom Kippur Till the Next", was published in 1972 (Sifriat Poalim), a year before the Yom Kippur war, and gained wide public resonance. Her second book, "Morning Offering", was published in 1998 (Carmel), with a grant from Amos Foundation for scholars and writers (President's House). Tal-Baron's poems are included in anthologies such as The International Women Poets Anthology (Lips, NY 1993) and the 1970's Anthology of Hebrew Poetry, and in literary magazines and supplements. Her poems appeared in "Songs for Peace" (1994) and other publications. The poem "Some Eggs Do It" is included in the book "Celestially Auspicious Occasions" by Dona Henes (Putnam, NY 1996). Another poem, "I Drink Your Air" (included in Paradigm Shift), will appear in the upcoming volume V of The Jerusalem Review (Spring 2005 / Jerusalem / 2 poems by CTB ).

"Paradigm Shift" is Tal-Baron's second CD with John DiMartino; her first, "Rainbow Ride", was issued in 2002 (www.cdbaby.com/
carmelatal). Her unique style of combining songs and spoken words has featured in various radio programs, including "Woody's Children" (Public Radio-Fordham University, New York, WFUV 90.7 FM), "9/11: Six Months Later" (March 2002) and "Cream of the Summer Crop" (September 2002). Tal-Baron's artwork has been shown and published in Israel, Europe and the US. Her vision of using art as tools for peace is presented in Designs for Enlightenment (www.portalmarket.com/carmelatbaron.html).

John DiMartino is a notable jazz pianist, composer, arranger and musical director living in New Jersey. He studied with Lennie Tristano and Don Sebesky and has performed in New York City's Carnegie Hall and throughout the world, accompanying such renowned artists as John Hendricks, Kenny Burell, Ray Barretto, Patalo Valdez and Tony Bennett. He is a featured musician on many recordings, including the Grammy nominated albums "Live and in Clave" (with Bobby Sanabria) and "Contact" (with Ray Barretto). He is featured in Piano Keyboard Magazine (March/April 2001).

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